Sheet piler having movable side guides

ABSTRACT

A MACHINE FOR PILING METAL SHEETS WHICH EMPLOYS AN OVERHEAD CONVEYOR FOR ADVANCING SHEETS FOR DEPOSIT ON A LIFT, OR THE LIKE, AT A PILING AREA, END STOP AND BACT STOP MECHANISMS, AND SIDE EDGE GUIDE MECHANISMS FOR COOPERATION WITH THE END STOP AND BACK STOP MECHANISMS, WHICH SIDE GUIDE MECHANISMS ARE ARRANGED IN PAIRS, ADJUSTABLE LATERALLY OF THE PATH OF TRAVEL OF THE SHEETS. ONE PAIR OF THE SIDE GUIDE MECHANISMS IS IN A FIXED POSITION AT THE ENTRANCE END OF THE MACHINE AND ANOTHER PAIR THEREOF IS CARRIED ON A LONGITUDINALLY ADJUSTABLE END STOP CARRIAGE. THE SIDE GUIDE MEMBERS, WHICH ARE RECIPROCATED AS THE SHEETS ARE DROPPED TO FACILITATE THE PILING OF SHEETS DELIVERED OFF CENTER, ARE CARRIED ON SUPPORT ARMS WHICH MAY   PIVOT UPWARD SO AS TO AVOID DAMAGE UPON ACCIDENTAL RAISING OF TH LIFT SUFFICIENT TO STRIKE THE GUIDES. A DRIVE MOTOR FOR ADJUSTING ALL THE SIDE GUIDES SIMULTANEOUSLY, DRIVES AN ADJUSTING SCREW FOR THE PAIR OF SIDE GUIDES AT THE ENTRANCE END OF THE MACHINE AND IS CONNECTED BY A CHAIN DRIVE WITH A SCREW FOR ADJUSTING THE PAIR OF SIDE GUIDES ON THE END STOP CARRIAGE, WITH A CLUTCH ARRANGEMENT FOR PREVENTING OPERATION WHILE THE END STOP CARRIAGE IS BEING REPOSITIONED.

Sept. 20, 9 D. BUCCICONE SHEET FILER HAVING MOVABLE SIDE GUIDES 6Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 30. 1969 INVENTOR DA RIO BUCCICONE Sept. 20,1971 Filed July 50, 1969 /IOO D. BUCCICONE SHEET FILER HAVING MOVABLESIDE GUIDES 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 P 20, 1971 D. BUCCICONE 3,606,313

SHEET FILER HAVING MOVABLE SIDE GUIDES Filed July 30, 1969 6Sheets-Sheet 3 D. BUCCICONE SHEET FILER HAVING MOVABLE SIDE GUIDES Sept.20, 1971 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 30, 1969 P 20, 1971 D. BUCCICONESHEET FILER HAVING MOVABLE SIDE GUIDES 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed July 30.1969 Sept. 20, 1971 BUCClCONE 3,606,313

SHEET PILER HAVING MOVABLE SIDE GUIDES Filed July 30. 1969 6Sheets-Sheet 6 United States Patent US. Cl. 271-86 9 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE A machine for piling metal sheets which employs anoverhead conveyor for advancing sheets for deposit on a lift, or thelike, at a piling area, end stop and back stop mechanisms, and side edgeguide mechanisms for cooperation with the end stop and back stopmechanisms, which side guide mechanisms are arranged in pairs,adjustable laterally of the path of travel of the sheets. One pair ofthe side guide mechanisms is in a fixed position at the entrance end ofthe machine and another pair thereof is carried on a longitudinallyadjustable end stop carriage. The. side guide members, which arereciprocated as the sheets are dropped to facilitate the piling ofsheets delivered ofl center, are carried on support arms which may pivotupward so as to avoid damage upon accidental raising of the liftsufficient to strike the guides. A drive motor for adjusting all theside guides simultaneously, drives an adjusting screw for the pair ofside guides at the entrance end of the machine and is connected by achain drive with a screw for adjusting the pair of side guides on theend stop carriage, with a clutch arrangement for preventing operationwhile the end stop carriage is being repositioned.

This invention relates to handling apparatus for metal sheets and ismore particularly concerned with improvements in a machine for piling orstacking sheet materials, usually at the end of a sheet processing ortreating line.

Sheet pilers for handling metal sheets have been developed heretoforewhich have been used successfully for stacking metal sheets, forexample, at the end of a fabricating line in a rolling mill where thesheets are cut to a predetermined length and arranged in a stack forremoval from the line. Sheet pilers for this purpose are disclosed in myPatents Nos. 3,256,010, 3,256,011 and 3,395,- 914. These machines arecharacterized by overhead magnetic conveyors which receive the sheetsfrom the line, frequently at a relatively high rate of travel, and dropthe same in a piling area where they come to rest in stacked relation ona pallet or other support so that the stacks may be readily removed fromthe line. These machines are provided with an end stop at the forwardend thereof for arresting the forward travel of the sheets and abackstop at the entrance end together with side edge guide members whichcooperate in guiding the sheets into superimposed relation in a stack.The edge guides employed in these machines for aligning the edges of thesheets generally include some means for adjustment so as to adapt thesame to the piling of sheets of different size. Because of the varyingconditions under which the machines may be required to operate and thewidely different dimensional and weight characteristics of the sheetswhich it may be desired to handle, special problems arise which requiredifferent treatment in designing a piler for use in a particularlocation so as to insure that it will pile in a satisfactory manner thesheet material it is desired to handle. It is a general object,therefore, of the present invention to provide a sheet piler havingimproved arrangements for guiding the sheets and aligning the edgesthereof as they come into pile or stack forming relation.

A more particular object of the invention is to provide 3,606,313Patented Sept. 20, 1971 a piler for stacking metal sheets whichincorporates improved side guide arrangements which will operate in anefficient manner for aligning the side edges of the sheets in the pile,which are of relatively simple construction and economical of space andwhich can be constructed at relatively low cost while being adapted tohandle sheets of moderate size and weight.

It is another object of the invention to provide in a piler, improvedside guide structures which are arranged to oscillate in stacking thesheets and which have a relatively long oscillation stroke so thatsheets can be received off center line and still be put into a nicestack.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a piler having sideguides which are adjustable laterally of the path of the advance of thesheets with one pair of the guides being mounted on the carriage whichsupports an adjustable end stop mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide in a sheet piler, sideguides for aligning the edges of the sheets as they are dropped on thepile which side guides are adapted to be adjustably positioned toaccommodate sheets of different width and which are pivoted so thataccidental raising of the hoist sufficient to bring the top of the pileinto engagement with the bottom of the side guides will merely lift theguides above their normal position without damage to the mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a piler withadjustably mounted side guides, one pair of which is mounted on the endstop carriage, and with a drive arrangement connecting the side guidesso that all of the guides can be moved for the desired lateraladjustment atone time by a single drive motor.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom a consideration of the sheet piling machine which is shown by wayof illustration in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a plan view, largely schematic, of a sheet piler whichincorporates therein the principal features of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation, largely schematic, of the piler shown inFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross section taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 to alarger scale;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevation taken on the line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line -5-5 ofFIG. 3, the mechanism at the opposite side of the machine being shown;

FIG. 6 is a portion of FIG. 5 to a greatly enlarged scale and with apart thereof broken away;

FIG. 7 is a view taken on the line 7--7 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 88 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a view taken on the line 9-9 of FIG. 2 to a larger scale;

FIG. 10 is a vertical section taken on the line !10--10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a side elevational view taken on the line 1111 of FIG. 1, toan enlarged scale, showing the end stop carriage; and

FIG. 12 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 1212 of FIG. 11, toa larger scale.

The piler machine 10 which is illustrated in the drawings (FIGS. 1 and2) and which incorporates therein the principal features of theinvention, is adapted to receive individual metal sheets from aprocessing line, or the like, and to deposit the sheets one by one on astack or pile 11 on a lift bed structure 12 for removal in a directiongenerally lateraly of the apparatus. The machine 10 may be used where itis desired to be able to pass selected sheets through the machine fordelivery to other equipment, such as, for example, another piler machineice the machine 10. Suitable control mechanism may be provided to selectthe sheets and operate the piler either to advance the sheets or dropthe same for piling.

The illustrated machine comprises an upright supporting frame section 13which includes longitudinally spaced end frames 14 and 15. The endframes 14 and 15 support opposite ends of an overhead magnetic conveyorstructure 16 which in the form shown comprises two identical conveyorrail units 17 and 18. The conveyor rail units 17 and 18 may be, forexample, the straight bottom type which are disclosed in my Patent No.3,297,136 dated Jan. 10, 1967 or the rail units disclosed -'in myPatents Nos. 3,229,805, dated Jan. 18, 1966 or 3,150,764, dated Sept.29, 1964. The rail units 17 and 18 are transversely spaced and supportedat the receiving or entry end of the machine 10 on a cross beam 20(FIGS. 2 and 3) carried by hanger members 21 depending from a fixedcross beam 22, the latter extending between upsatnding side portions ofthe end frame 14. The conveyor rail units 17 and 18 are supported at theother end of the machine on a cross beam 23 (FIG. 2) carried by hangermembers similar to members 21 which depend from the fixed top cross beam24, the latter extending between the upstanding portions of the end"frame structure 15. Each of the rail units 17 and 18 comprises anelongate frame 25 which houses a series of longitudinally spaced magnets(not shown) and a traveling belt 26 which is supported at opposite endson pulleys 27 and 28 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Pulleys 27 at the entrance end ofthe machine are mounted on an idler shaft 30 while the pulleys 28, atthe opposite or exit end of the machine, are mounted on a drive shaft 31which is connected in driven relation with a speed change mechanism anddrive motor 32 so as to drive the belt 26.

tion relative to the lengthwise direction or longitudinal travel of thesheet. The side guide assembly 36 (FIGS. 2 and 9) is mounted on theplatform 37 which carries the end stop and which is supported independing relation on the longitudinally adjustable end stop carriage38. The end stop carriage 38 is movably mounted for adjustmentlongitudinally of the machine on a pair of side beams '40 extendinglongitudinally of the machine is laterally spaced relation. Each of theside beams 40 supports on its inner face a longitudinally extendingendless chain 41 which is connected to the carriage 38 for moving thesame along beams 40. The adjusting chain 41 is carried on end sprockets42 and 43, with the latter on a cross shaft 44 which has a sprocket andchain connection 45 with the output sprocket on a drive motor and speedchange device 46 by operation of which the carriage 38 is adjustedlongitudinally of the machine to carry the end stop mechanism 34 and theassociated side guide assembly 36 to the desired position relative tothe back stop 33 at the entrance end of the machine so that the two arespaced the proper distance to accommodate the length of sheet it isdesired to pile.

The side guide assemblies 35 and 36 are of the same construction and aremounted in like manner so that sheet edge engaging members are in pairswith the members of each pair thereof at opposite sides of the machine.All of these guide members are adjustable laterally of the path of thesheets by operation of a single drive motor so as to accommodate sheetsof different width.

The side guide assembly 35 is supported on a cross beam 47 (FIG, ,5) onthe end frame 14 immediately below a pair of transversely extendingentrance rollers 48 (FIG. 2) which support the sheets as they areadvanced from an infeed conveyor 50 and enter beneath the magneticconveyor 16 where they are picked u by the magnets and held against theconveyor belts 26. The assembly 35 comprises right and left hand sideguide devices or mechanisms which are of identical construction andwhich are arranged symmetrically on opposite sides of the center line ofthe machine. Opposite sides of the machine are shown in FIGS. 3 and 5and the right and left side guide mechanisms and 55' are illustrated.The left hand guide mechanism 55 will be described, it being understoodthat guide mechanism 55 is a duplicate thereof except for being oppositehand.

The guide mechanism 55 comprises a vertically disposed sheet engagingguide plate member 56 (FIGS. 6 and 7) having outwardly angled margins 57at the top and along the two vertical sides. The plate 56 has verticallyspaced top and bottom, generally triangular, end plates 58 and 58 whichare connected by a pivot pin 60 adapted to be mounted in verticallyspaced bearings 61 on the forward end of a slide block 62 so as to pivoton a vertical axis. The slide block 62 has a vertically disposed slottedplate 63 extending towards the outside face of the sheet engaging plate56 and the sheet engaging plate 56 has a pair of horizontally spaced,outwardly extending lugs '64 and 64' between which there extends a rod65 for receiving a pair of coil springs 66 and 66 with their inner endsseated against the opposite faces of the vertical plate 63, the bolt orrod 65 being accommodated in the end slot 67 in the plate 63 so that thesprings 66 and 66 normally hold guide plate 56 centered on the end ofthe slide bar 62 and restrained against pivoting on the axis of the pin60 but permitting a certain amount of movement to accommodate anyirregularities in the edges of the sheets which are being piled. Theslide bar 62, which is of generally rectangular cross section, isslidably mounted in a rectangular guide housing 68 which is secured onthe vertical face of a supporting bracket 70 on which there is alsomounted an air motor 71 with its piston 72 connected by the pivot pin 73to a pair of vertically disposed ears 74 on the outer end of the slidebar 62. By operating the motor 71, the plate 56 is reciprocated in apath laterally of the longitudinal center line of the machine with thetiming of the reciprocation being controlled by a switch assembly 75(FIG. 2) at the entrance end of the machine, which operates in responseto the passage of a sheet, so as to engage the side edges of the sheetwith the guide plate 56 as it settles onto the pile and aligns the samewith the previously piled sheets.

The support plate or bracket 70 which carries the housing 68 and motor71 has top and bottom flange plates 76 and 76 between which pivot pins77 and 77 extend for connecting thereto the ends of a pair of parallellinks 78 and 78'. The links 78 and 78 are connected at their other endsto a pivot bracket 79 (FIG. 5) by means of vertically disposed pivotpins 80 and 80' extending between spaced top and bottom flanges 81 and81' of the bracket 79 with the latter being mounted on a horizontallydisposed pivot pin 82 extending between upstanding end plates 83 and 83'on a bracket 84 mounted on the vertical portion of the cross beam 47.Each of the parallel links 78 and 78' has a sliding pivotal connectionwith a nut-like adjusting carriage 85 (FIG. 8) on the adjusting screw 86which extends transversely of the machine in a housing 87 mounted on thetop of the cross beam 47. The connection for each arm comprises a pivot88 on the nut 85 which extends through a slot 89 in the top of thehousing 87 and carries on its upper end an upwardly opening generallyU-shaped guide bracket 90 for receiving in sliding relation therespective link 78 or 78', there being a connection of the samecharacter for each of the link members. The nut 85 is threaded on thecross shaft 86 and is moved axially of the same upon rotation of theshaft. The upwardly opening pivot bracket 90 is provided to guardagainst breakage in the event the lift 12, on which the sheets arepiled, is inadvertently raised too high by the operator so as to engagebeneath and lift upwardly the guide plate 56 and raise the supportinglinks 78 and 78 out of their guide brackets 90, with the links 78 and78' pivoting about the support pin 82 which is carried in the bracket79.

The adjusting screw 86 is supported in suitable bearings on the endframe 14 and is extended at one end so as to support a sprocket 91(FIGS. 3 and 4) which is connected by chain 92 with a sprocket 93 on ashaft 94 which is journaled in a housing 95 extending above the one topside beam 40 at the entrance end of the machine. The shaft 94 isconnected through clutch 95' to the output shaft 96 of a drive motor andspeed reduction assembly 97, the latter being mounted on an upstandingsupport bracket 98 on the top cross beam 22. The shaft 94 carries asprocket 100 within the housing 95 which drives a chain 101 forsimultaneously adjusting the width or lateral position of the side guidemembers 56 of the guide assembly 36 which is carried on the end stopcarriage 38.

The chain 101 extends about a sprocket 102 mounted on a stub shaft 103journaled in the side walls at the lower end of the housing 95 andprovided with a spring tension arrangement indicated at 104. The chain101 runs about a guide sprocket 105, on the stub shaft 106 which is alsojournaled in the side walls of the housing 95, and extends along theouter face of the hollow beam 40 in a suitable housing 107 with the toprun of the chain supported on the top of the housing 107. The chain 101is supported at the other end of the beam 40 on a sprocket 108 (FIG. 2)mounted on a suitable stub shaft. The chain 101 drives a cross shaft 112(FIGS. 11 and 12) which is mounted on the end stop carriage 38 by meansof end bearing members 113, 113'. Bearing members 113, 113 are supportedon brackets 114, 114' on the side walls of the box-like carriage frame.The shaft 12 has a sprocket 115 mounted thereon which is disposed abovea pair of longitudinally spaced guide sprockets 116 and 116 which aremounted on stub shafts journaled in the outer side wall of the end stopcarriage 38 so that the top run of the chain 101 may pass beneath theguide sprockets 11 6 and 116' and engage with the sprocket 115 so as torotate the shaft 112 when the chain 101 is driven. The shaft 112 carriesa sprocket 117 which drives chain 118. Chain 118 runs down along theside of the carriage 38 and around supporting sprockets 120, 120' and121, 1.21" which are on the pivot axes at opposite ends of the parallellink bars 122 and 122', the latter depending from the lower end of thecarriage frame and being pivotally mounted at their lower ends toupwardly opening, U-shaped channels 123 at opposite ends of the end stopplatform 37. The chain 118 passes around a sprocket 124 on the end ofthe cross screw 125 which is mounted in a housing 126 On the top face ofthe platform 37. The screw 125 has right and left hand threads atopposite ends and a nut assembly 85 is mounted on each end. The nutassemblies have swivel connections with upstanding upwardly openingsockets 90 receiving in sliding relation the parallel links 78 and 7-8of side guide mechanisms 55, 55 Which constitute the side guide assembly36 and which are the same construction as the mechanisms 55, '5constituting the side guide assembly 35, the only difference being inthe brackets 127 for mounting the horizontal pivots 79 on the platform37 The right and left hand side guide mechanisms 55, 55' are mounted onthe platform 37 on opposite sides of an end stop mechanism 130, asindicated in FIG. 9, and the two side guide mechanisms are adjustabletoward and from each other simultaneously by the rotation of the screw125 which is driven by chain 110.

:In order to avoid rotation of the screw 125 when the platform 37 ismoved to adjust the position of the end stop for the length of sheetbeing piled, an air operated clutch assembly 131 and air operated brakeassembly 132 are connected to the dirven shaft 112 so as to disconnectthe drive and hold the screw against rotation during adjusting movementof the end stop carriage 38. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the clutchassembly 131 is mounted on the shaft 112 and the brake assembly 132 ismounted on a short parallel shaft 133 which is journaled in suitablebearings on a bracket 134 supported on top of the carriage frame. Thebrake shaft 133 has an end sprocket 135 connected by chain 136 with aclutch controlled sprocket 137 on the shaft 112. Suitable controls foractuating the clutch 131 and brake 132 are provided so that when theclutch is off and the brake is on, the shaft 112 and screw 125 are heldagainst rotation enabling the carriage 38 to be moved without changingthe adjustment of the guide assembly 3 6. The carriage 38 is providedwith wheel-like rollers 138 which ride on the top and bottom of the beam40 and is moved, for adjustment, along the beam 40 by the power drivenchains 41.

The end stop mechanism 130 (FIGS. 9 and 10), which is mounted on theplatform 37, comprises a vertically disposed bumper pad 140 and padmounting plate 141 which is supported by a vertical pivot pin 142received in a bearing bracket 143 att he forward end of a horizontallydisposed rectangular frame 144. The frame 144 has parallel side channels145, 145' which open outwardly with the flanges forming tracks forsupporting the frame for movement on guide rollers 146 and 146 which aremounted on stub shafts carried on laterally spaced parallel plates 147and 147 upstanding on a support bracket 148 on the platform 37. A crossbar 150 is positioned on the frame 144 for engagement by the bumperforming end 151 of piston 152 which extends from the air cylinder 153,the latter being mounted on the platform by means of bracket 154 fixedthereon. The air cylinder 153 is connected by conduit 155 with an airsupply source having suitable controls for operating the same so as toabsorb the force resulting when a sheet edge strikes the vertical faceof the bumper pad 140 so as to stop; the forward movement of the sheetand push it back toward the back stop 33 at the entrance end of themachine, thereby to align the leading and trailing edges of the sheetsas they settle onto the pile.

I claim:

1. A sheet piler machine comprising longitudinally spaced, upright endsupport frames, an overhead traveling conveyor extending between saidend support frames having means for carrying sheets on the bottom facethereof so as to advance the sheets for deposit on a pile in a pilingarea between said end support frames, a back stop at the entrance end ofthe machine, an end stop mechanism and a supporting carriage for saidend stop mechanism which carriage is mounted for movement between saidend support frames and longitudinally of the machine, power drive meansconnected to said carriage which is operable to position the end stopmechanism at a predetermined distance from said back stop according tothe length of sheet to be piled, a pair of sheet side edge guidesdisposed at the entrance end of the piling area and spaced on oppositesides of the longitudinal center line of the machine for co-operationwith said back stop in guiding the trailing ends of the sheets onto thepile, a pair of sheet side edge guides mounted on said end stopsupporting carriage and spaced on opposite sides of said longitudinalcenter line for cooperation with the end stop mechanism in guiding theleading ends of the sheets onto the pile, means mounting the sheet sideedge guides of each pair for adjustment toward and from each other, saidsheet side edge guide mounting means comprising an adjusting screwconnected toeach pair of sheet side edge guides, a single power drivemeans having chain and sprocket connections with said adjusting screws,which is operative to simultaneously adjust the sheet side edge guidesof each pair thereof in any position of the end stop supportingcarriage, and the connection between said chain drive and the adjustingscrew on the end stop carriage including a clutch which is operative todisconnect the chain drive so that the adjusting screw is not rotatedwhile the end stop carriage is moved to position the same.

2. A sheet piler machine comprising longitudinally spaced, upright endsupport frames, an overhead traveling conveyor extending between saidend support frames having means for carrying sheets on the bottom facethereof so as to advance the sheets for deposit on a pile in a pilingarea between said end support frames, a back stop at the entrance end ofthe machine, an end stop mechanism and a supporting carriage for saidend stop mechanism, which carriage is mounted for movement between saidend support frames and longitudinally of the machine, means to move saidend stop supporting carriage to position the end stop mechanism at apredetermined distance from said back stop according to the length ofsheet to be piled, a pair of sheet side edge guides disposed at theentrance end of the piling area and spaced on opposite sides of thelongitudinal center line of the machine for co-operation with said backstop in guiding the trailing ends of the sheets onto the pile, a pair ofsheet side edge guides mounted on said end stop supporting carriage andspaced on opposite sides of said longitudinal center line forco-operation with the end stop mechanism in guiding the leading ends ofthe sheets onto the pile, means mounting the sheet side edge guides ofeach pair for adjustment toward and from each other, power drive meansconnected to said sheet side edge guide mounting means which isoperative to simultaneously adjust the sheet side edge guides of eachpair thereof in any position of the end stop supporting carriage, saidsheet side edge guides each comprising a pair of parallel links mountedat one end on a pivot bracket extending transversely of the machine, aguide plate support bracket pivotally connecting the other ends of saidparallel links, said parallel links being normally positioned in agenerally horizontal plane, a slide bar carried on said guide platesupport bracket, a guide plate mounted on a vertically disposed pivot ansaid slide bar, an adjusting screw extending transversely of themachine, traveling nuts on said adjusting screw and having a readilyseparable connection with said parallel links whereby upward pressurebeneath the guide plates will pivot the same upwardly and avoid damageto said sheet side edge guides.

3. A sheet piler machine as set forth in claim 2, and the separableconnection between said parallel links and said traveling nutscomprising upwardly opening saddle members carried on verticallyextending pivots and adapted to supoprt the links in sliding relationtherein whereby upward pressure beneath aguide plate will swing theassociated links upwardly about their pivot bracket.

4. A sheet piler machine as set forth in claim 2, and an air cylindermounted on said guide plate support bracket having its piston connectedto said slide bar which air cylinder is operative for reciprocating saidguide plate in a path transversely of the machine.

5. A sheet piler machine as set forth in claim 2, and said guide platebeing mounted on said vertical pivot and having associated resilientmeans for normally holding the sheet edge engaging face of said guideplate in a plane generally parallel with the longitudinal center of themachine and permitting the same to tilt on said vertical pivot toaccommodate unevenness in the edges of the sheets being piled.

6. A sheet piler machine comprising longitudinally spaced, upright endsupport frames, an overhead traveling conveyor extending between saidend support frames having means for carrying sheets on the bottom facethereof so as to advance the sheets for deposit on a pile in a pilingarea between said end support frames, a back stop at the entrance end ofthe machine, an end stop mechanism and a supporting carriage for saidend stop mechanism, which carriage is mounted for movement between saidend support frames and longitudinally of the machine, means to move saidend stop supporting carriage to position the end stop mechanism atapredetermined distance from said back stop according to the length ofsheet to be piled, a pair of sheet side edge guides disposed at theentrance end of the piling area and spaced on opposite sides of thelongitudinal center line of the machine for co-operation with said backstop in guiding the trailing ends of the sheets onto the pile, a pair ofsheet side edge guides mounted on said end stop supporting carriage andspaced on opposite sides of said longitudinal center line forco-operation with the end stop mechanism in guiding the leading ends ofthe sheets onto the pile, means mounting the sheet side edge guides ofeach pair for adjustment toward and from each other, power drive meansconnected to said sheet side edge guide mounting means which isoperative to simultaneously adjust the sheet side edges guides of eachpair thereof in any position of the end stop supporting carriage, saidback stop and associated sheet side edge guides being mounted on the endframe at the entrance end of the machine, said means for mounting theside guides at said entrance end comprising parallel link bars normallydisposed in a horizontal plane, pivot brackets connecting the link barsat one end thereof to the end support frame at the entrance end of themachine for upward swinging movement about an axis extendingtransversely of the machine, an adjusting screw extending transverselyof said end support frame, traveling nuts on said adjusting screw,upwardly opening saddle members carried by said nuts and adapted toreceive in sliding relation said link bars, and the power drive meansfor adjusting the sheet side edge guide mounting means operating torotate said adjusting screw so as to adjust said sheet side edge guideslaterally of the machine.

7. In a machine for piling sheet material which ma chine compriseslongitudinally spaced, upright supporting end frames, an overheadtraveling conveyor extending between said end frames having means forsupporting sheets for advance to a piling area between said end framesand deposit on a pile, a back stop at the entrance end of the machine,an end stop mechanism and a supporting carriage for said end stopmechanism, longitudinal frame members extending between said end frames,means mounting said end stop carriage on said longitudinal frame membersfor movement lengthwise of the ma chine, power drive means connected tosaid end stop carriage which is operative to adjust the position of theend stop mechanism relative to said back stop according to the length ofsheet to be piled, a pair of side guide devices positioned at theentrance end of the piling area on opposite sides of the longitudinalcenter line of the machine for cooperation with said back stop inguiding the trailing side and end edges of the sheets as they drop ontoa pile, a pair of side guide devices mounted on said end stop supportingcarriage on opposite sides of said longitudinal center line forco-operation with said end stop mechanism in guiding the leading sideand end edges of the sheets onto the pile, means mounting the side guidedevices of each pair thereof for movement toward and from each other,said means mounting the side guide devices comprising adjusting screws,power drive means connected to said guide adjusting screws for movingthe side guide devices of each pair thereof so as to adapt the machinefor piling sheets of different widths, which power drive means includesa drive chain connected to said adjusting screws and a clutch mechanismfor disconnecting the drive chain and the side guide adjusting screwwhich is on said end stop supporting carriage.

8. In a sheet piling machine, mechanism for guiding the side edges ofsheets which are dropped onto a pile comprising sheet edge engagingguide plate members disposed in generally vertical planes on oppositesides of the piling area, support brackets, slide bars mounted on saidsupport brackets for movement in a path transverse of the piling area,vertical pivots connecting said plate members to the innermost ends ofsaid slide bars, means mounted on said support brackets and connected tothe slide bars for reciprocating said slide bars and means for adjustingthe position of the support brackets toward and from each other, andsaid means for adjusting the position of the support brackets comprisingan adjusting screw and means forming a separable pivotal connection withsaid support brackets.

9. In a sheet piling machine as set forth in claim 8 and the meansforming a separable pivotal connection with said support bracketscomprising upwardly opening sad- UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1963 Fiehl27l-88 6/1966 Buccicone 27189X JOSEPH WEGBREIT, Primary Examiner 10 B.H. STONER, JR., Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 271--63A UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3, ,3 3 Dat d ptembeI 20, 1971 Dario Buccicone Inventor(s) It is certified that errorappears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, line 69, "leteraly" should be laterall Column 3, line 51, "is"should be in Column 5, line 37, "12" should be 112 Column 6, line 23"att he" should be at the Column 7, line 51, "supoprt" should be supportColumn 7, line 52, "aguide" should be a guide Column 8, line 3, "ate"should be at a.

Column 8, line 18, "edges" should be edge Column 8, line 63, Insert sidebetween "said" and "guide" Signed and sealed this 7th day of March 1972.

(SEAL) Attest:

EDWARD M.FLETCHER,JR. ROBERT GOTTSCHALK Attesting Officer Commissionerof Patents FORM Po-1050 :10-69) USCOMM-DC wave-P69 U 5 GOVERNMENTPRINTING OFHCE: I959 O-366-3!l

